What is familial hypercholesterolaemia?

In some people, high cholesterol is caused by a specific gene inherited from a parent or parents. This is known as familial hypercholesterolaemia. Each cell in your body has a ‘receptor’ that allows cholesterol to be cleared from the blood. People with familial hypercholesterolaemia have a fault in this receptor so it cannot clear cholesterol from the blood, so there is a build-up of cholesterol. This can lead to coronary heart disease. People with familial hypercholesterolaemia generally develop coronary heart disease at an earlier age.